In the past we talked about the S2H products that you kids can wear and earn points to redeem for prizes. There is even a S2H Pedometer that gives you a code when you walk 10,000 steps.  Earlier this week I discovered via the Biggest Loser their Slimcoach device (it’s actually a MyTrak device). It has some great features like the ability to use a hear rate monitor in tandom with its pedometer features.  You can also use it if you swim. It’s got ONE button to make it super easy to use. It is $129 a year. You can read more details here.

In looking at some articles about this device I found a new device that should excite those people who want it easy, and do NOT want to mess with a computer. It’s called the Striiv Personal Trainer. I can see this as a great tool for both adults and children. In fact they just came out with a new feature where you can challenge another Stiiv user to a challenge (again without a computer). It seems really cool. It’s super easy and every night at midnight it resets your stats.  There are multiple ways to motivate you to move.

1. If you are a person who cares about the suffering in the world, when you walk you can donate your steps towards goals such a vaccines, water, and the rain forest.

2. If you are a competitive person, you can track your best efforts and try to better them.

3. There are challenges that you can do (again very game based) that make it fun as well as challenging.

4. There is a “myland” game where you walk to generate energy and then use the energy in the game to build things. If you’ve see “the SIMS” video game, this reminds me of that, or Farmville. Two words: very cool. I love this thinking outside the box. I have a niece who graduate high school with a year of college credits as she started learning very early when we bought her computer games. When you’re having fun, it doesn’t seem like work.

It does track both your steps, stairs, calories burned, and distance. It can be carried on your hip, pockets, purses, or even clipped to a key chain (how cool). It has multiple sensors to detect your activity. The price is $99, and I could see this being something that parents could use to introduce fitness back into the family (assuming you don’t have 5 kids).

I’m going to contact the company about getting my hands on one for some real life experience with the unit. From the videos I’ve watched this could be a very cool product.

Buy at AMAZON.com

Rebounding From a Bad Week

I’m bummed that after losing weight fora few weeks, in just a few days I seem to have gained a lot of it back. It reminds me of standing on a treadmill. When you walk on it, you don’t seem to get anywhere but if you stop, you will go backwards. With me, I took my focus on my health for a few days and that weight came right back. Am I upset? Sure. But lets harness that frustration at the gym, and instead take a look at the week and analyze it. For me this coming week I will be traveling. I need to pack some food, and find something to do if I get bored (luckily a planet fitness is about 5 minutes from the hotel.

Don’t beat yourself up. Learn from your mistakes, and design future steps to avoid repeating your mistakes. many times this starts with getting some sleep.

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If you haven’t joined one of our competitions, today is the day to do it as they start tomorrow.

(Free) at Skinnyo.com (28 days)
Thintopia.com 12 Weeks $5
Earndit.com 28 days (trackers)

I accidentally state in this podcast that they start on Monday. That is WORNG (and I don’t have time to re-record). So join today. It’s going to be fun.

Dave

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Today we have a guest, and not just any guest! Jimmy Pena is the founder of Prayfit and has worked with people like Mario Lopez, LL Cool J, and Tyler Perry to create National Best Selling Books and DVDs. Today we talk about his new DVD called Prayfit: 33-Day Total Body Challenge its a great DVD that has you focusing on delivering your personal best for 33 Days for 33 minutes. Each workout contains challenges that last for 33 seconds. It will make you sweat.

PrayFit 33-Day Total Body Challenge utilizes the Christian faith to inspire those with weight loss goals and is a complete workout and motivational system designed to burn calories, build lean muscle and bolster your faith, helping to reshape your entire body in 33 minutes a day for 33 days.  Ideal for any fitness level, the workout includes a highly efficient 33-minute workout that combines cardio, strength and core moves for total body results in a limited amount of time, requiring no extra equipment.  The program works because it demands progression and challenges you to give your best effort. The key is to do more today than you did yesterday.  As Jimmy says, “Yesterday’s best is today’s quest.”  To encourage you to stay the course, Jimmy includes faith-based motivation throughout the workout and created weekly “PrayFit Minute” devotionals to inspire you to improve your life by honoring the one who made you.

We also talk about his book Prayfit: Your Guide to A Healthy Body and A Stronger Faith in 28 Days which churches are now using in combination with the DVD to create study groups, and bring the talk of taking care of the gift that is your body back into the church.

We answer questions such as “If I’m doing both, should I do cardio or strength training first?”

For daily inspiration, forums, nutrition, newsletters, swag, as well as videos check out www.prayfit.com

Download the DVD  in iTunes

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I created an Excel spreadsheet a while ago that people can download and use to have a Biggest Loser Competition at work, church, home, etc. The “bad” news is you either have one person acting as the Manager of the competition (which can be a hassle asking everyone for their weigh in information), or you let everyone enter their own information each week (for example at a job where the Excel file was stored on a shared network drive), and now everyone can see each other’s weight. With the success of the biggest loser, I knew their had to be other people like myself who had taken upon themselves to make having a Biggest Loser contest at work easier. There are, but before we get into that let me state a couple of things.

1. In the end if someone really wants to cheat, they will (you could always strap your fitbit to your dog…). Cheaters never win… in the long run.
2. There are more sites than these, but some of them were obviously just a tool to splash TONS of advertisements in front of you. I have one of those listed in this review, and I’ll tell you when we get there.
3. Each has its own charm with different features.

After looking at these I created some competitions.

1. Skinnyo.com is completely free. It only has room for 16 people so hurry.

2. Thintopia.com is asking for $5 per person (if you want to play for free you can, but the prize money will go to the highest percentage of weight loss who paid).Check it out.

3. If you have a tracking device (like a fitbit, or bodymedia), we have a $5 entry fee at the earndit.com site. This one should be interesting. The person with the most points wins. Sign up

Now let’s take a look at some of the sites:

Fitocracy is the game you play to improve your fitness. Play it to track your progress, compete against your friends, and get real results in your physical fitness. They are working on having a droid app (there is a mobile site). It’s free, but you can be a “hero” for $5 a month to help support the site.  You can create a group, and the look at the leaders in your group for a certain period of time. The focus of fitocracy is exercise. You can track your workout stats (reps, weight, etc). You can track cardio, and you can create routines that you repeat. Depending on what you do, you earn points. I was playing with it Internet Explorer 8 and it seemed to have some formatting issues. When I tried it on my phone, I had some issues (droid). Looks cool, and has potential. It just needs a little touch up. I will definitely check it out in a few months. It is in Beta, and you need an invite to play (contact me, or use the link above). Lots of potential here, especially for those gym rats. Even if this wasn’t a competition, having a web site that can track your exercise for free is cool.

 In the past I’ve used Weight Loss Wars. It is a website where you can join a challenge, or start your own. It costs $10 to participate, but it does all the calculations for you. You can even create a “private” challenge (for say your church group, work group, etc).  The competition only shows the change in weight, and you can choose to hide your weight in your profile (or only reveal it to friends). Visiting this site you will see a fair amount of ads. The site itself is somewhat “ho-hum” on the looks side but it does the job. There are blogs, journals, and other tools there as well. You can have it set to have a cash prize, but you would handle that outside of their site (using something like paypal).

Skinnyo.com is also free to use (unless you want a private competition where you select who is participating which costs $10). Skinnyo.com limits you to 16 people (either playing against each other or you can have up to 8 teams).  Skinnyo only shows your weight differences to other users not your weight. If don’t have a giant group, and want to have teams this is a cool option. The way they calculate challenge winners is by the total weight lost during the challenge (which I think means percentage of weight loss?). If you’re looking to do teams, this would be my choice. I’m currently kicking the tires on this site and will let you know.

Thintopia.com is another great site that is 100% completely free, and yet not overrun with ads (there are some, but a tolerable amount).  It’s from a software engineer named Micah Stubblefield. I love that it’s just some dude in his basement (like me), and he is struggling with his weight (like me). There are no limits to the number of people you can have in your competition. I don’t see an option for teams, but again your weight is not displayed only your change. Micah answered all my emails, and seems like a very cool dude. If you want to have a “Private” competition all you need to do is assign a password, and only those people who you give the password to will have access to join. Unless I needed teams, (and without using the site yet) this to me seems to be the clear winner. The site has great content. It’s easy to navigate. While it lacks a “FAQ” page, my questions were answered in minutes – not days. I’m currently kicking the tires on this site and will let you know.

Earndit.com is a great site for those who are worried about people cheating. earndit.com assigns points that come from people who are using a tracking device like a Fitbit, or bodymedia, or Nike+, Garmin, Runkeeper, etc. You get 10 points for running a mile, and 3 points for biking a mile. You get 15 points for checking in at the gym using foursquare.com. You get .10 point for being fairly active on a Fitbit, and .75 for every very active minute on a Fitbit. You get the idea. You can set a number of points and the first person to it wins, or set a date range and the person with the most points wins.  You can set a maximum number of points per day a person can earn to keep things close. You can compete for bragging rights, or you can have people pay to get in, and the winner automatically gets a gift card (a tango card  which is a pretty cool prize). This is the only site that takes care of collecting fees, and distributing payouts. If you’re not looking for a competition, you can use earndit.com by yourself and earn points that can be used towards shopping. I am also kicking the tires on this one.

Another free option (not really worth looking into) is Corporate Fitness League (this is the site with LOTS of Ads). You can take on your family, or go department against department if you have more than 10 people and want to go teams. You designate a captain, who then has to enter everyone’s weight (As someone who as done this – that’s a deal breaker ladies!). You can “Sweeten” the pot with $, but in the end  you will need a picture of the participants scale (some organizers also require a “word of the day” so you can’t find a thin picture on Google Images) to keep people honest. I just spent about 10 minutes playing with the site and found it clunky (it seems every click opens a new window). Due to the massive amount of ads (disorganized at that), and the requirement of a “Captain,” I would not recommend this site.

Summary

I’m inspired by what people are doing to help us be competitive. If you’re a person who wants motivation to get to the gym, check out Fitocracy. If you’re worried about cheaters, or looking for a third party to handle the prizes then go to earndit.com If you want to set up teams, check out skinnyo.com (they say in special circumstances they will remove the 16 people limit). If you want to have a large group for free (and avoid a billion ads) I really liked thintopia.com

Woman’s Wii Fit Character Exploded

A British woman was so heavy that when she stepped on her Wii Fit her character exploded. Read the full story and see pictures.

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Inspirational Quotes

God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change,
the courage to change the one I can,
and the wisdom to know it’s me.

or…
Grant me the serenity to accept the past I cannot change,
the courage to change the future I can,
and the wisdom to start today.

“Even if you fall on your face, you’re still moving forward.”
*Victor Kiam*

The reason why people give up so fast is because they tend to look at how far they still have to go, instead of how far they have gotten.

Sweat is fat crying.

Pain is temporary, regret hurts forever. – Danny

The Best Video Game That Burns Almost the Same Amount of Calories as Running

An article (and video) at yahoo reports that when it comes to comparing the Wii with an Xbox with the kinect system, that there is no comparison. The test consisted of using a Heart Rate Monitor (I recommend Timex Heart Rate Monitors as you can replace the batteries) and see how many calories she burned running, and then compare it to the calories burned using the video games. She burned 259 calories in 20 minutes wen she was running. When she played the game Dance Central on the Xbox with the Kinect system she burned 251 calories. That’s only 8 calories less, and it’s FUN. The Kinect adventures had her jumping and ducking. She burned 216 calories, but her heart rate went thruogh the roof (its interval training basically). Compare these to the Wii Sword fighting game (149 calories – over 100 calories less than running), and you can see where the Wii isn’t in the same league. She did like the Biggest Loser game even though she only burned 175 calroies in 20 minutes as it mixed cardio and strength training. The games are around $40. As of this writing the Xbox with the Kinect system goes for $258 at Amazon.com

Xbox 360 4GB Console with Kinect List Price: $299.99 Price: $259.98 Read Reviews

Other Items Mentioned

Mountain Dew Story

Earndit.com

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We have a long road ahead. We need to go into this with both eyes open. One of the ways we will dodge failure is by setting S.M.A.R.T. Goals

S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Attainable
R = Realistic
T = Timely

Let’s look at those a little more specifically. A poor goal is “I want to lose weight.” Then you lose a pound. Are you done?

It has to be measurable. When something is measurable you now know if you are ahead or behind schedule. I want to lose “X” amount of pounds, or “X” number of inches of my waist.

Some say the “A” stands for Attainable, Achievable, or Agreed upon. I often use Appropriate. It doesn’t make any sense to say I’m going to swim 20 minutes a day if you do not have access to water. It also has to be something that is attainable in your mind. If you don’t think you can do it, you probably won’t.

We need Realistic goals so we don’t set ourselves up to be discouraged. If we say, “I want to lose 10 pounds in 10 days,” that is not realistic (or healthy).

A goal without a timeline is a dream. You need to add time to your goals. I usually tell people just starting out to shoot for easy goals. This might be something like,  “I will walk for 10 minutes five times this week.” It’s specific. It is measurable. It’s realistic. It has a time line. Many people try, “I will lose 10 pounds in a month.” I prefer to put time elements on action items. If you do the action items, then you will be putting yourself in place to lose weight and get healthy.

               Example Goal:

               “I will walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes (specific), 4 days this week. “

Keep in mind that if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. This goal is something that you need to believe you can do. It needs to be something that you want, and something you feel you can achieve. It needs to be achievable (notice I didn’t say easy). We just need to avoid those times when we set up something that is so hard that we give up.  Then we need to add a time element so we can measure ourselves and see if we are on time.

Don’t fret if you get behind. A guided missile is “Wrong” most of its path. It radios back and sees that it’s off path and adjusts. It then radios back, and makes more adjustments. Eventually it hits the target and everyone applauds. Nobody noticed that the missile was “wrong” for most of the flight. Make your adjustments, and continue on toward your goal.

Resources to Help You Kick Off the Year In The Right Direction

I used a Myotape to measure myself so I can see where I am starting at (so I can celebrate when these numbers go down in the future). I basically measure areas at the thickest part. Here are some directions from SparkPeople.

If you need calorie tracking software check out our resources

My favorite Gadget for motivation is the Fitbit (it’s kind of like a pedometer on steriods).

Today at the gym I used my Heart Rate Monitor to push me to get my hear rate up.  I like the Timex models as you can change the batteries.

Focus on the Activity and the Results Will Follow

Some times we get fixated on the scale. Then if things don’t go the way we want, we can get discouraged and want to quit. What you may want to do is to put an activity into your goal. Such as I will walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes. This is measurable. Then after you establish that habit you can start focusing on the distance you are covering in that 30 minutes.

Fat, Sick, and Almost Dead

I watched the movie Fat Sick and Nearly Dead. This was an inspiring movie that you can watch on netflix, or watch on Hulu (which I’ve put here). The thing I found very interesting. In once scene a person who has had a heart attack starts to reboot his life by juicing. He then talks about the medication he is taking post-hart attack $571 a month.

The heart attack cost $56,424 –
Juicing For a Month $420

I liked the movie, but I’m not sure Juicing (while healthy when done right to avoid spiking your blood sugar) is a true way of life. I’m looking for lifestyle change, and I think going ALL juicing would not be able to be maintained by most people.

31 Days of Reinforcement

Spark people has a great calendar with tips for January. PDF

Music Used in Today’s Podcast

Band: Arc Angels (Stevie Ray Vaughn’s old band) “Shape I’m in” and “Good Time.”

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I received a copy of Get Healthy for Heaven’s Sake by Lisa Morrone P.T. I started reading the book, and then had to move. The book somehow didn’t make the trip. I liked the book so much, I bought a second copy so I could finish it (it’s around $10, and only $9 for the kindle version). Lisa is the author of Overcoming Overeating: It’s Not What You Eat, It’s What’s Eating You! This book is doing a great job of making see food in a completely different light.

The book hints that when you lose to fulfill a goal (fit into jeans, or see Grandchildren) that you may still miss what your lifelong task is, and thus the results may be temporary. The book states that what we should be focusing on is what God wants us to do, and realize his plans don’t include the extra weight we are carrying.

We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. EPHESIANS 2:10

In looking at our schedule, are the activities we partake in something that God wants us involved in? When someone asks you to do something, have you ever asked God if it’s a good idea?

Why you should take care of your body. The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6:19: Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? If my body is a temple for God, then what I put into it can be an act of worship. A way to obey God, and a way to put God first. Another great analogy in the books talks about how our bodies are on loan from God. What if your mother in-laws loaned you their prized family punch bowl. When you use this, you probably don’t have any small children at the table. You handle it with care. You hand wash it. You make absolutely sure not to drop it or break it. Why? Because you know how much your mother in law values that piece. She also knows how hard it would be to replace.

Corinthians 6:19 Paul lets us know that honoring the Lord with our physical being is a command: Therefore honor God with your body.

We all know that we use food for fuel. We get hung up on how food makes US feel. This book made me change my complete outlook on fuel. Food and eating are now a way for me to praise God. It’s a way to say thank you for my body. To appreciate the one of a kind gift that he has given me. Romans 12:1: I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
Instead of worshipping food, food can be used to worship God.

The book talks about the story of Nehemiah, and points out how his quest to rebuild Jerusalem. The same steps that Nehemiah took to rebuild the city, we can use to rebuild our bodies. Nehemiah built walls (to block bad things) and gates (to let in good things). She then breaks down the seven steps of rebuilding yourself.

1. Cry out to God.

We have talked about accepting responsibility for you actions. Acknowledge what you’ve done, and realize that this won’t be fixed over night. Cry out to God for the strength to rebuild your body.

2. Seek Forgiveness

Proverbs mentions that gluttony is a sin. Take some time to identify the habits you have, and how these are not helping you take care of the gift that is your body. Ask God to forgive you.

3. Ask for Empowerment

The author makes a great point here, “God Himself. God will always grant us the power to do that which is according to His will—and by now I hope you are convinced that your improved health is most certainly God’s will for you. And the wonderful thing is that all you have to do.” The key to do this every morning, before temptation is in front of you.

4. Take an honest Assessment of your health

I’ve said it before when you are getting directions to some place, the first piece of information is your current location so you can figure out how to get from HERE to THERE. Sit down with some quiet time with God, and take a good long look at yourself.

5. Verbalize your commitment to change.

Nehemiah publicly spoke of his plans to rebuild the city walls. He did this to let people know of his plans, and to also enlist their help.

6. Develop a Detailed Action Plan.

Nehemiah knew what was broken, and who was going to rebuild that section. Not sure where to start? Ask God. When in doubt pray first.

7. Use the Buddy System

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, where Solomon observes, Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!…Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.

There is another step I would add. When Nehemiah finished the rebuilding of the city walls, he celebrated. So I say celebrate when you reach a goal. If you say, “But that’s in 30 pounds!” I say, “Set goals of two pounds, and you’ll celebrate 15 times more (and you’ll build momentum and confidence along the way).

And They’ll Know We Are Christians By Our Bloat

If Christians are supposed to follow God’s guidelines (the bible), we should look and act differently from those who do not. I once got a “Are you kidding me?” look at a Christmas party where I explained that I do not drink alcohol. While the bible doesn’t say “do not drink alcohol” (it says don’t get drunk), I prefer to avoid it all together. I stood out. The problem is many people think this is a Christian trying to be self-righteous. This is not the case in my situation. My point being, that in some situation we should stick out like a sore thumb. Instead according to the book Christians are more likelyto be obese than non church goers (with my old denomination the Baptists leading the way).

If we live a way that most people do not (eating healthy, honoring God for the gift of our bodies) we will live a way that most people don’t (void of medications, surgeries, and disease) in the future.

It’s time to make changes for the better in our life. Listen to Isaiah, “I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” ISAIAH 43:19

For Those Who are Not Fans of God

If you are not a fan of all this God talk, most post modernism people tend to view themselves as the creator of all things good in their lives. To this I would say, “You get one body. Take care of it. Do not put your faith in science to save you in the future. It’s not going to matter how much money you make to get the best doctors. Sadly, that didn’t work for Steve Jobs (I have no idea what Steve’s spiritual side was, my point being science can’t always save you). Honor yourself by putting good things into your body.

iPhone Gadgets

Thanks to Dav Shapiro for sending over the articles about the cool tools to help you track fitness on your iPhone. Previously you had to use a special plugin for your iPhone, (which allowed you to connect with almost all fitness equipment). Now you can connect via blue-tooth. It sounds like it’s not completely available, but here is a preview of it on YouTube.

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I just found out about a new service that if you are using a tracking tool such as a fitbit or the bodyfit media, you can sign up for a free account at earndit.com and earn points for your activity that can learn to rewards which includes points to go shopping. These include great healthy treats, as well as shoes, outdoor items, and many more. This even works with international listeners. For me I love the Bodybugg, and the Bodybuggsp, but if you are looking for something that doesn’t require a monthly fee, check out the Fit bit. To earn points at earndit.com you need a track device (if you had to manually enter the data, it might be easy to cheat).

From The Group

Dave mentions that he likes Eggies, you just have to clean them out, and spray them be before using them.

Jawbone issues refund for UP bracelets. (thanks for the heads up Dave).

The Good Old Days

In moving into a new location I had my share of looking at old pictures, etc. I realized that much like the Billy Joel song, “The Good old days weren’t always good, and tomorrow ain’t as bad as it seems.”

Song used as transition ” Damaged” by Sass Jordan.

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Today I did some research and found two doctors who foudn a study from the New England Jounral of Medicine that did some research and hsowed that while people do gain weight over the year, the “10 lbs between Thanksgiving and New Years” seems to be a bit of an urban legend. You can read the full article here.

It was interesting tat an article at Fitday stated the “gain 10 lbs: meam. It did have some interesting options for staying lean duringthe holiday season. As I was over there I see where Fitday has added some new features. Mainly:

1. You can use their desktop verison and it will sync iwth their website. Very cool.

2. They have an iPhone app.

I’ve always liked Fitday’s application for tracking Exercise and Fitness as it added an emotional tracking (how dod you feel). This makes it easy to see that when you are not so happy, you are vulnerable to emotional eating. You can try a free tiral at www.logicalloss.com/fitday.

I Lost My Fitbit

I really loved my Fitbit. It was like a cross between a BodybuggSP and a Pedometer. I had one, and I unfortunately sent it through a trip in the washing machine. It actually still worked, but the battery life was very bad. Someone donated one to me, and I loved it (it was the new fitbit ultra), and it track not only steps, but stairs, and it has a bult in timer, and can track you sleep. It was a very cool tool, and I didn’t realize how much of a motivational tool it was until I didn’t have it. I finaly dug out my old Omron unit (which was a good unit, but not as fun as the fit bit), and I found out that I was only taking about 3,00 steps a day.

With this in mind, I’ve defintely added a fitbit to my Wish list for Santa.

In the meantime you might want to consider purchaisng some Stuff Bak stickers (that increase your chance of getting something back that you lost by 70%). Use the coupon code Dave10

Are there Times When Weight Loss Should Not Be Attempted?

As I’m up three lbs since our last podcast, I started to wonder if there are time when we should put off weight loss until we have other priorities in palce. When I think about Maslow’s Heirchy of needs, the first one is shelter, food, safety, etc. Recently with my job situation this has been a huge concern (we are actually moving into a less expensive housing). So I thought, maybe its wong to try and lose weight now. I’m so focused on this other very important NEEDS that i’m really setting myself up for failure.

This is dangerous thinking. Whenever we give ourselves the “I’ll do it later” or “It’s ok,” light we open up the flood gates to future health issues. I live in Cleveland. We haven’t had a sports championship team here in my lifetime (I beleive the browns won before I was born).  Howver, year after year our teams take the field knowing that they are probably not going home with a trophy. They still play to win. You don’t win if you don’t try. While you may not be moving forward as fast as you want, you are not aiding the urge to move backwars towards unhealthy habits and meals. Never give up.

What do you think? Are there times when you should put weight loss on hold, so you can get the rest of your life together? Is it pointless?

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We start off with some stats from the Biggest Loser.

Americans eat 24 pounds of candy a year.

We spend 44 dollars a year on Halloween candy.

20 Million pounds of candy corn sold every year.

Check out the calories of some of the worst Halloween candy.

The Truth About Eggs

In a nutshell, Eggs don’t deserve the bad wrap they get. The bad part of the Egg is the yolk, but if you eat 2 eggs (or less) a day in conjunction with a low-fat diet you’re fine and enjoy the many benefits of eggs. For me, I just hard boil mine, and don’t eat the yolk. I found a great article about Eggs at Men’s Health.

Egg Cookers

I watched an Eggies commercial and got sucked into finding a way to microwave eggs and not have to deal with the Shells. In the end I’m not sure this exists. In doing some research, the eggies system is made for really small eggs. We don’t have really small eggs, and you still have to wait for the water to boil.

Currently I use an EggGenie. Which works well. It’s a great “hands off” way to cook eggs. In looking at Amazon.com they had some other options there is a Microwave Egg cooker which sounds like it works fine once you get the time right. Just be careful with the unit as its very hot when you take it out.

Other Topics

24 Hour Discount Coupons

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Today we have 10 tips from Olympic Athletes:

1. Workout Buddies

2. Track your progress – write it down. This can be in an electronic version, or something like a fitbook

3. Schedule your workouts. Treat it like a Doctors visit. If you don’t it more than likely will eventually be a Doctor’s visit.

4. Boring is OK. If your food works, there is nothing wrong with eating the same stuff.

5. A day of rest does not have to be 24 hours of couch surfing.

6. Have a goal in mind.

7. Find what works for you. Don’t worry if you look stupid.

8. Take Vitamins

9. Stay Hydrated. Carry water with you.

10. Diversify your fitness portfolio. Add multiple activities keeps things fresh.

Other items mentioned in this episode:

Sleep Timing at http://sleeptiming.com/  (I use my Fitbit to track my time, and to analyze the quality of my sleep)

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Back in the day my grandmother had silverware that was made of silver. When we did the big Christmas dinner I got stuck polishing the silverware. It took some good old fashioned elbow greese (even with Tarn-X), but eventually the silver would shine through.

As we go through life, we make mistakes. It’s called being human. We can only hope that we learn from them. However, we often get stuck looking backwards, and we are fixated on the past. When we do this we miss all the wonderful things that are happening TODAY. There is a reason after all that the windshield of your car is big and the rearview mirror is small. All we see is the tarnish. The extra weight on our bodies is not permanent. All we need to do is apply some “elbow grease” at the gym, or on the sidewalk, and at the dinner table, and we will scrub off the tarnish of our lives. Underneath the guilt, regret, and sadness there is a shing example of a person. When we look at the tarnish, and don’t believe we are silver, we lose the motivation to polish ourselves and instead of revealing the silver, we tac on the tarnish. It all starts with your brain. Just realize you are not your mistakes.

My step-son had band practice and I watched them do the same 64 beats of a song over and over and over. The band leader said, “Remember in band camp I said practice makes permanent.” This is true. The more we do the wrong things, the better we get at them. So it was his job to point out their mistakes and get them on the right path. Over and over and over they practiced “Hey Jude” (a strange selection for a marching band), but they eventually got. Then they did it again to make sure it wasn’t a mistake. This practice of doing it over and over and over is like polishing the silver. You wipe and wipe. Is it clean? Wipe some more. Clean now? Wipe, wipe, wipe, and wipe some more. It takes some effort, but in the end the silver will come through.

We listen to a clip from Hannah who won the Biggest Loser, and she said, “No more excuses. This is my fault, and it ends now. It starts today.” She bagan moving, and in the end lost 120 pounds.

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I found this great article, and told Jane she should start a podcast. Until then here they are

Attitude
Balance
Consistency
Decision
Energy
Flexiibility
Grattitude
Help
Imangination
Joy
K.I.S.S.
Listen
Motivation
NO
Opportunity
Plan
Questions
Reading
Survivor
Today
Umbrella
Victories
XYLITOL
Yearning
Zest

New Fitbit Utlra has new Features

The fitbit now has a click, stopwatch, and it not only tracks steps, but also how many of those were stairs, in addition to tracking sleep and other activity.

The fitbit goes for $99 and the website is free. If you want additional stats on the website (like the ability to track multiple goals) it’s $49 a year.

For more information go to www.logicalloss.com/fitbit

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This week we have a slightly shorter show. We discuss 10 ways to burn 100 calories, and we talk about the myTrek from Scosche.

10 Ways to Burn 100 Calories

1. Clean the windows of your House
2. Do some gardening
3.  Play with your dog
4. Do some ironing
5.  Decorate the house
6. Wax you car
7. Walk
8. Cycle to Work (I love this suggestion)
9. Try Aerobics
10. Swimming

Most of these take less than 30 minutes. If you do one a day, and two on the weekends you will lose a pound in a month.

What is a myTrek?

 The Scosche myTrek is a wireless hear rate monitor that works with your iPhone or iPod touch (at this point the Droid users are bummin’). What it does is you strap it to your forearm (no wires, no chest strap) and it sends your pulse via blue tooth to your iPhone or iPod touch.

You enter your information about your age, weight, and set your target heart rate zones. You then import your music from your iPhone or iPod touch and start your workout. Your music begins to play, and your heart rate is displayed in real-time as you workout. It also displays your duration, and as you workout there is a color bar. Each color represents a zone. This makes it very easy to see if you are in the correct training zone. If you’re not where you want to be you’ll know as the software will audibly tell you what zone you are in (kind of like having a coach in your ear). When you are done it gives you a summary of your workout including calories burned, duration, and using the GPS on the iPhone or iPod touch the distance traveled.

If you are a person who listens to music on their iPhone or iPod touch, this would be a great addition to help keep you motivated and “nudge” you out of the “mailing it in zone.”

Scosche IPTM myTREK - Wireless Pulse Monitor List Price: $129.99 Price: $99.89 Read Reviews

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I am very excited to have the Biggest Loser back on television (even without Jillian Michaels). I do believe that Anna Kournikova is there for her smile more than her training capabilities, but I’m trying to keep an open mind. On the other hand they have a third trainer (who got no love before the first episode – who knew?) named Dolvett Quince. Based on his look alone, everyone went “I’ll take him over Anna. That made me kind of feel bad for her, but this dude is IN SHAPE.

Here is some more about Dolvett:

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Motivational Quote

Here is a great motivational quote:

Nothing in the world can take place of persistence.
Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.
Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.
Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent
- Calvin Coolidge

Me & My Chair: The No Excuses Workout Price: $29.00 Read Reviews

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I walking by my elementary school that I attended 40 years ago. It looks like a war zone. They’ve moved the kids to a new school and there are plans to turn it into a community center. There used to be giant trees. There was a new playground, and its just a giant mess. All the windows are gone, and all thats left is a dumpster and mounds of dirt. What used to say “Otis C. Hatton School” now only reads “    oo “. If you were to just look at this building today you would go “Holy Cow what happened? = Something hit this thing!” We often look in the mirror and go “Holy Cow What Happened?”

Well I’m sure someone has a blueprint and a plan to turn this war zone into a great community center. If you look in the mirror and go “Oh my God, What Happened?” Its time to get a blule print and a plan. The easy to remember is to eat less and exercise more.

Plans mean you have to sit back and figure out what the hurdles will be, and how you will over come them. I’m sure the construction guys have benchmarks to knwo if they are ahead of schedule or not. They track their progress, they have milestones. You can do the same thing, but you need to be honest and track what you are (and more importantly) are not doing. For me tracking my food is crucial. When I don’t, my weight goes up. I keep switching programs. Right now I’m using Lose it! which works on their website, an iPhone or an Android phone. There are all sorts of programs (even paper and pencil) in our resource section.

For tracking my activity I use a Fit bit. This thing smacks me in the face every day with a graph of time when I was sitting. OOFAH! I can’t argue with it. Here again, I need to put it on as soon as I get up, and leave it on to be accurate. I had a body bug. I loved it. But the fit bit is simpler, (and doesn’t require $10 a month). I still have the body bug and may use it in the future.

Get A Team – Find an Accountability

Partner

People who had a support group were 42% more likely to be successful than those people who had no support.

Birds of a feather flock together, and if you hang out with people with bad habits you are 57% more likely to follow them into the bad habits (from the book Just 10 LBS. When I was college, I would go out and drink with my buddies. I did this every Tuesday and Thursday. I fellt it was what I was “supposed” to do as a 20 something year old college student. After three months, I just thought if Jesus walked in right now he would be disappointed. So I quit going. My firends kept going, and we were not as close as we used to be (we are still friends 20 years later). I lived when I did that, and I found healthier things to do. I survivedwithout those friends.

One of the things I really like about the Lose it! application is that (on the wbesite) they have a “motivators” section where you can set it up to email your accountability partner to receive reports every day, or every week. This means you have to enter in every calorie you eat. It doesn’t do any good to enter your 1500 calories into the software then eat 2500 calories.

If birds of a feather flock together find the fit people at work, school, church, and ask them how they stay in shape. Maybe they are doing activities you can participate in as well. Maybe they will mentor you. Maybe, just maybe you’ll get a new friend.

Would You Pay For An Accountability Partner?

Someone said I should start a serivce where I could be your accoutability coach. We could have weekly meetings online. I like this idea. I can’t do it for free. What would you pay for a weekly accountability partner? Leave a comment below or email me at dave@logicalloss.com I like the idea.

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Turn on the TV, and you will see person after person being  criticized, critiqued, voted off, etc. It doesn’t matter if their going to be the next American top model, idol, voice, chief, dancer, etc. If you turn on the television you will find a group of other people judging one another. No wonder we feel self conscious when we go to a gym.

Sometimes if even comes from our parents. Teenage girls who said their parents made comments about their weight are twice as likely as their peers to be highly concerned about their appearance a year later. Many times lighthearted comments leave a lasting impression.

We look at magazines, and we want to look like the people on the pages. Realize the people on the pages don’t look like he people on the pages. Also, realize the average American woman is is five feet four inches tall, and weighs 140 lbs. The average model is five feet eleven inches tall and weighs 117 lbs. This makes her thinner than 98 percent of the American women. It is pointless to compare yourself to someone who you have a two percent genetic chance of looking like.

When it comes to living in a world of judges, in the immortal world of Cee Lo green, “Forget” them. This again is where we need to focus on losing that next lbs. Don’t worry about the other 29 or whatever you need to lose. Lets focus on the next pound.

Stopping Your Own Progress

We do judge ourselves. Remember this: you’re not done. If someone tells you, “Wow it looks like you’ve lost weight,” don’t think to yourself  “you need glasses” accept that compliment. You are blessed with a body. You may not have taken care of it like you should’ve, but your body is beautiful.

Think of all the helpful things your body does. Your ears listen to friends. Your eyes read books. Your arms give supportive hugs. When you hear yourself start to deliver negative self talk, stop it, and replace it with something positive. Instead of “My thighs are huge,” replace it with “My thighs love to walk.”

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Jillian’s Unlimited Playlist

Jillian Michaels has a book out that deals with dealing with your mental hurdles. It’s called unlimited. She recently put out an Unlimited the playlist. I like some of these songs as a way to build up your mental strengths. You can have a workout list of songs that get you up and pumping, but you can also get songs that pick you up. They can be a mental “You can do it” list. Here are the list of tunes.

Don’t forget you can get Jillian’s book Unlimited as an audio book read by Jillian herself for free by going to audibletrial.com/dave

at Amazon

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Today I share some insight from chapter three of the book Just 10 LBS: Easy Steps to Weighing What You Want (Finally) which talks about starting a daily practice. Here are some tips.

1. Get rid of the clutter. When your house is a mess its stressful. When you’re cleaning you’re not sitting on the couch.

2. Start the day thinking about how your day will go. Think about how it will feel to be thin. How you will look. Think about what you will do.

3. Prayer. Studies show people that prayer lost more weight that those who didn’t. I believe because you don’t feel so alone, and you can rely on God’s strength to boost yours.

4. Affirmations – The idea is to get your say started in a positive way.

5. Have the reason WHY you want to lose weight firmly in place.

6. End the day with an attitude of gratitude and think of three things at the end of the that you are grateful for. This could be your Dog, Your Roof, Parents, etc. End the day on a positive note.

7. Focus on the next pound. Not the total amount you need to lose.

When you feel better about yourself then you feel you are worth the effort it takes to lose weight (just thinking positively will not do it alone )

Associate producer

Judith Clark from the UK. Thank’s for supporting the show Judith.

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I’ve tried Fitoracy, and this is a cool site. It combines community, and competition. We’ve talk about creating contests like the biggest loser, etc. you could use this site to inspire people to exercise. You earn points for exercising. When I walked for an hour I earned 100 points. When I did 30 sit-ups I earned 15 points. Its a great way to get addicted to exercise. If you like the point system on Spark People, then this takes that concept without the tons of advertising that you get on spark people. It does not thing with food tracking. It just rewards points for exercise. Contact me if you want an invitation.

Killing the “I Can’t Change” Myth

Maybe you’ve been overweight all your life. Maybe its been years since you’ve been at your target weight. This does not mean that being lift is no longer an option. While a leopard can’t change its spots, it can run in a different direction. George Burns didn’t win his first Oscar till he was 80. Julia Child didn’t start her TV show until she was 40. You CAN change. Are you the same at 33 that you were at 15? No we mature, and our life experiences help us focus. We just need to consistently work at eating less and exercising more.

Part of changing yourself you need to come up with a “Why” you need to change. If you have a firm grasp on the WHY you can put up with the WHY.

Associates Producers:
Alice Yovich
Theresa Reed

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Today we talk about Emotional eating with tips from the book Just 10 lbs. There are many reasons we eat. Many of us eat for emotional reasons. This book has great tips on overcoming and dealing with the mental reasons you eat. its written by an addict (of both drugs and food). It even has some free tools that you can find at http://changeinstitute.com/tools/ (you have to sign up for their email list, but its free – I’ll be talking about it more in the future).

Take it down to one decision at a time

I want you to find ONE thing to do differently this week. Find one thing that will be easy to do, and do it. I am also setting small two lbs goals for me (which has worked from 212, 210, 208). I celebrate these goals, and I now feel momentum.By having one small thing to focus on, we don’t get overwhelmed and we can continue on in the right direction. Then next week we can add one more little thing to do that will help us in our weight loss journey.

Find Something About Yourself That’s Good

For whatever reason, we love to bear ourselves up. Instead of finding that one thing that we did wrong and focusing on that, why not find a few things we LIKE about ourselves and focus on those. We can change things about ourselves over time, but we do need to like ourselves so we feel confident, and love ourselves. So many times we get hung up on that one wrong thing, and we want to give up. Instead focus on one thing that is positive about yourself.

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Today we hear from Karen who says, “Dear Dave,        I want thank you and to tell you the inspiration you have been to me. I have battled weight issues all my life and prior to April 2010 I had all but given up and then I stumbled upon you at Logical Weight loss,  you said don’t look at losing 100 pounds, look at it like losing 10 pounds ten times. I had never looked at it like that, and said to myself I can do that. So as of today I have lost 110 pounds, I’m not done, but feel so much better than I did 15 months ago. You make a huge difference in our lives.”

The key to this is she got her head in the game first. Then her body followed. She used fitday at first and later switched to Sparkpeople.com

Fitbit Review

In the past I’ve tried out the Lifesource 20-XL which you put on your shoe. It wirelessly transmitted data to their website. It was around $30. Then I switched to the Omron HJ-720ITC which allowed me to send data (via a cord )to my computer and make stats of my walking. the price of that is around $38.52. Now I’m playing with a fitbit. This is a great little tool. It’s like a pedometer on steroids. It uses the same sensors found in a Nintendo Wii to make sure its accurate. It tracks your activity, and wirelessly transmit your data to the fitbit website. The best part? The website is free (unlike a bodybugg where the website is $10 am month). There are some premium reports at fitbit.com that you have to purchase,d but they are only $49 a YEAR.

The thing I like about the fitbit is its size. Small enough to not get in the way, but big enough to not lose all the time. My Omron unit always falls off wherever I clip it (it even comes with a second clip to catch the unit when the first one fails). The fitbit clip is well engineered to make sure it doesn’t fall off, and yet its comfortable. Seeing the display is a breeze. You press a button and toggle through the stats that show the number of steps, the miles you’ve walked, the calories you’ve burned, and a flower that indicated how active you’ve been during the day.

The one thing that surprised me was the fitbit website. This is especially true of their food logging. As I thought this was a primary pedometer function, food was an after thought. They have a nice database, and finding and logging food was easy. There is a mobile version of the website so you can enter food on your phone. Not my favorite interface, but it worked.

The fitbit charges quickly, and the charge lasts for days. You will not be worrying about having it go dead.

The fitbit also monitors your sleep. I found this to be very interesting and also eye opening. I didn’t realize I was getting between 5 and 6 hours sleep a night.

It also does a good job of letting you see just how much of your day is spent sitting down.

What the Fitbit doesn’t do

If you compare this to the Omoron unit its a no brainer. The tracking of the sleep is enough to validate the extra expense. But if you compare it to the Bodybugsp, you will see where a bodybugg is more accurate (as a bodybugg measures activity, temperature, and sweat). So if you go for a bike ride, the Bodybugg will be able to calculate accurate calories burned. The fitbit will not (as you’re sitting down). However on the fitbit website you can easily go in and “tell” the software that you went bike riding and keep your stats active.  On the other hand the bodybuggsp is $100 more and cost $10 more a month to use.

If your worried about accuracy, I’m using the fitbit in conjunction with Lose it! (which I talked about on a previous podcast). The best thing about this is Lose it! calculate what it thinks  you burned based on your age, height and weight. Lose it! looks at the data from the fitbit and determines the more accurate number. Very cool. Connecting it to Lose it! took all of about four mouse clicks. Well thought out, and well executed.

Conclusion

If your a stat junky like me you will love the fitbit. Their website allows you to track anything. The easy to read display is a great motivator (yes even the flower). It’s ease of use is out of this world, and the sleep diagnosis was an added bonus that provides insights into sleep (a vital piece of the weight loss puzzle). I LOVED The fact that I NEVER had to worry about this thing falling off, and that its very accurate when tracking steps. Yes its more expensive than a basic pedometer, but for me its well worth it. For more information go to fitbit.com

Jillian Michaels Endorsing RIP60 System that Puts P90X to Shame

Jillian Michaels used to work with the TRX system on the Biggest Loser. Now she is working with the people at Rip60. This is very similar but comes with a TON of DVDs, nutrition guide, carrying bag, and more. The other bonus is the TRX system is around $200 where the Rip60 system comes in at $139. If you are looking for an inexpensive, potable way to put on some muscle (and ladies it won’t bulk you up), the you may want to check out Rip60.

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I have talked about Lose it! the book in the past.

Back in the day, I remember hearing about this great iPhone app called Lose it! It was free and had been download a bajillion times. Then they came out with a book. The book is filled with great common sense advice, but it really made me wish I had an iphone, or they had a droid app.

It has come to my attention that there is now a BETA version of Lose it! for the android. All you have to do to get a copy (free) is send an email to info+android “at” loseit.com (spelled out to avoid spam) and include this info:

1. Name
2. Email Address (if you have a loseit.com account please send us this email address)
3. Phone model
4. Android Version
5. Why you would make a good beta tester

(Emails missing this information will not be considered.)

Not everyone can get in on the beta, but its worth a shot. I was able to get my copy and I am stoked.

Why Lose it is Cool

They took a lesson from the folks at Apple and made a cool interface. They looked at their target goal of their audience and said, “What are these people doing?” and the answer is tracking their calories and exercise. So they set up an interface to make that easy. When I login I get a progress bar. If its green, I’m good. It its red, I better start walking, jogging, cycling, etc to burn some calories.

They have all the things that help motivate you. They have the progress bar which makes it easy to view today, this week (VERY COOL), and your overall goals. I can also see the percentage of nutrients for the day and week (so if I’m counting carbs, etc its all here).

For being a beta version, I have not had a problem and it syncs what appears to be instantly with their website the minute I make a change.

For the record entering food is easy as pie. I may make a video about that. Also, if you are like me (and eat the same stuff over and over) its insanely easy. For example I eat two cups of Post raisin Bran and a cup of skim milk for breakfast in the morning. I set this up as a recipe, and breakfast is done in about three clicks now.

My favorite feature that I have not seen in ANY other food tracking software is a built in accountability partner alert. I can go in and have it send my food log and exercise log to my wife. Would knowing that your actions are being sent to a partner make you think twice before slamming a box of Oreos? Now for the record, that feature is on their website (not in the app), the synchronization of the app and the website make it seem like it’s all one big tool. In fact there isn’t much the app can’t do that the website can (a few reports, and alerts, but that’s it).It also ties into your twitter account and facebook as well (which most calorie tracking programs do).

What’s Missing From Lose it!?

After using Calorie Counter (from fatsecret.com) and Myfitnesspal.com I have to say that ability to scan a barcode and have it apear in the software is a must have. The good news is its already on the list of improvements along with a way to track water consumption (my other suggestion).

Other than that not much. They have a way to view food based on restaurant. This was great the other night when I went to Longhorn steak house. The bad news is I would add one thing, and then take 4 clicks to get back to the Longhorn details (a check box option would be nice here, I ate “this, this, and this” save – like myfitnesspal).This is solved by just searching for “Flo’s Filet” and it came right up.

Other things that are coming to Lose it! is the ability to sync your fitbit wireless activity tracker (very cool tool if you can’t afford the bodybugg). So you will have your  Withings Wifi Body Scale that syncronizes (so your weight will show up automatically) your fitbit will put  in your activity, and all you do is enter your food.

If you’re looking for the iPod app you can find it here:

If your interested in the book, here it is

Lose It!: The Personalized Weight Loss Revolution List Price: $21.99 Price: $6.85 Read Reviews

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I’m not sure why I gained week last week. I hit my 10,000 steps a day many days. My calories were close to being on target. My sleep was poor. Hmm.. maybe I do, but don’t want to hold myself accountable.

I think this is the topic for the next logical weight loss podcast this week. We sugar coat things. We think they are not that bad. I’m going to go back and look at my calories (I have been religiously putting them into my fitness pal). I bet I’m worse than I remember. When I looked at my calories (see chart) I was over my goal 52% of the time. Hello?

Jimminy Crickey in Pinocchio had a song about your conscience being your guide. One verse was

Take the straight and narrow path
And if you start to slide
Give a little whistle! Give a little whistle!
And always let your conscience be your guide

Notice the path is narrow. The bible says that few people walk the narrow path. These means not everyone is doing it. It means it not easy. It’s simple. Not easy. (eat less exercise more).

We all have a conscience. We know when we buy the Hostess Ho Ho’s all the way to the checkout that these should not be in our cart. Instead of listening to our conscience, we choose what WE want. I want the Ho Ho. I just had an argument with my spouse and felt bad. Did I know this was wrong? Yes. My reason to make it ok? I’ll walk it off tonight.

Tonight came. I walked. But not enough to burn of the Ho Hos.

So earlier in the week my weight was up to 214. The highest its been in a long, long time. I originally didn’t log it here as I didn’t want to see my name at the bottom of the competition list. But I wasn’t hiding anything. Not logging my weight doesn’t make it magically disappear.

My watch started to fit snugly. My pants were strained. I pulled muscles in my back.

I had pushed my weight issues away, and tried to fix my life by self medicating through food. But just like a boomerang, my weight issues came back to the front of my life. I’ve told myself before, if you’re not hungry food is not the answer. We try to hit the snooze button on our weight loss. Thinking it will somehow fix itself. This brings up a great question. Are you ever happy after hitting the snooze button? I’m not. This means I have to hurry in the shower, or skip breakfast, or in general – be rushed. This is not a great way to start the day. You hear the alarm go off, and you’re like, “I know, let’s start the day with some procrastination.”

I ignored the little voice in my head. It typically is right. If I did what it says most of the time, I believe I would be lighter. Instead I do what I want. I pretend my weight problems can be “paused” but they come back.

Last night I set an alarm to GO to bed so I would get at least 7 hours. I turned off the alarm, and went back to my computer “for just another minute” that lasted 60. Today I am so tired, I reached for the mountain dew 290 calories in the wrong way. I didn’t listen to my conscience. I did what I wanted instead.

So today I am telling myself to start listening to my conscience. Look at weight loss as a “one choice at a time” and the other thing I need to do is get some sleep.

Give a Little Whistle in iTunes

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I apologize – I accidentally posted an episode from my School of Podcasting Podcast. Thanks to Fred from the Struggling Entrepreneur podcast for the heads up.

I am listening to the Success Principles by Jack Canfield (You can use this as one of your free audiobooks at www.audibletrial.com/dave ) and at the beginning of the book he talks about personal accountability. In a previous episode I talked about how accountability is the springboard to change. Nobody is putting a gun to our head to eat that Big Mac. Our responses are our responsibilities.

In the book he brings out a formula that is so simple, and yet so true.

E+R=O

Events plus Response equals outcome. (I think I say output in the podcast).

The events are those things that we often have no control over. People, weather, etc are included here. Then there is our response to these. This is the ONLY Thing we can control. The output is the success or failure we have based on how well we responded to the events in our life.

So may times we don’t do things because its not exactly like we want. What a bunch of crap. Do what you can with what you have and worry about things being perfect later. You can do this. If you are not getting the outcome you want, change your response.

Here is an article Jack penned about the subject.

If you don’t like the outcomes you are currently experiencing, there are two basic choices you can make:

1.) You can blame the event (E) for your lack of results (O).

In other words, you can blame the economy, the weather, the lack of money, lack of education, racism, gender bias, the current administration in Washington, your wife or husband, your boss’s attitude, the lack of support, and so on.

If you’re a golfer, you’ve probably even blamed your clubs!

No doubt all these factors exist, but if they were the deciding factor, nobody would ever succeed. For every reason it’s not possible, there are hundreds of people who have faced the same circumstances and succeeded.

It’s not the external conditions and circumstances that stop you — it’s you!

We think limiting thoughts and engage in self-defeating behaviors. We defend our self-destructive habits (such as drinking and smoking) with indefensible logic.

We ignore useful feedback, fail to continuously educate ourselves and learn new skills, waste time on the trivial aspects of our lives, engage in idle gossip, eat unhealthy food, fail to exercise, spend more than we make, fail to tell the truth, don’t ask for what we want, and then wonder why our lives aren’t working.

2.) You can instead simply change your responses (R) to the events (E) until you get the outcomes (O) you want.

You can change your thinking, change your communication, change the pictures and you hold in your head (your images of the world) and you can change your behavior (the things you do.) That’s all you really have any control over anyway.

Unfortunately, most of us are so run by our habits that we never change our behavior. We get stick in out conditioned responses-to our spouses and children, to our colleagues at work, to our customers and our clients, to our students, and to the world at large.

You have to gain control of your thoughts, your images, your dreams and daydreams, and your behavior.

Everything you think, say, and do needs to become intentional and aligned with your purpose, your values, and your goals.

If you don’t like your outcomes, change your responses.

Here’s an example of how this works:

Do you remember the Northridge earthquake in 1994? I do! I lived through it in Los Angeles. Two days later I watched as CNN interviewed people commuting to work, The earthquake had damaged one of the main freeways leading into the city. Traffic was at a standstill, and what was normally a 1-hour drive had become a 2-3 hour drive.

The CNN reporter knocked on the window of one of the cars stuck in traffic and asked the driver how he was doing.

He responded, angrily, “I hate California. First there were fires, then floods, and now an earthquake! No matter what time I leave in the morning, I’m late for work. I can’t believe it!”

Then the Reporter knocked on the window of the car behind him and asked the driver the same question. This driver was all smiles.

He replied “It’s no problem. I left my house at five am. I don’t think under the circumstances my boss can ask for more than that. I have lots of music and Spanish-language tapes with me. I’ve got my cell phone. Coffee in a thermos, my lunch-I even have a book to read. I’m fine.”

Now, if the earthquake or the traffic were really the deciding variables, then everyone should have been angry. But everyone wasn’t.

It was their individual response to the traffic that gave them their particular outcome. It was thinking negative thoughts or positive thoughts, leaving the house prepared or leaving the house unprepared that made the difference. It was all a matter of attitude and behavior that created their completely different experiences.

If we all experience the same EVENT, the OUTCOME you get will be totally dependent upon your RESPONSE to the situation.

If you want to take control of how you respond to life, you’ll start noticing that your outcomes will be more along the lines of what you have always hoped. Remember, you control your destiny so make it a fantastic one!

—

Jack Canfield, America’s Success Coach, is the founder and co-creator of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul and a leading authority on Peak Performance. If you’re ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get your FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at: http://www.FreeSuccessStrategies.com

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Here comes the next craze. The 17 diet. I’m sure a meal plan, membership site, and calorie counter will be coming soon. We see this every year. Remember the belly diet of last year?

My step daughter’s  future mother-in-law has lost some weight, she is going to go on the diet. Why? Because people go on it and lost pounds. To this I beg people to figure out pounds of WHAT? Muscle? Fat? Water?

Without knowing a single thing about this book, I know its going to say to eat less (more than likely a lot less) and exercise more. unfortunately, it will cut your calories way back. Then your body starts to eat its own muscles, and when you go off the diet you have a “smaller furnace” to burn calories. Then what happens? You gain the weight back (and probably gain more than you lost). So what happens next? You go on another “diet” and the cycle repeats. Meanwhile the yo-yo dieting damages your metabolism.

According to Amazon.com the book has four 17 day cycles. These include:

Accelerate—the rapid weight loss portion that helps flush sugar and fat storage from your system

Activate—the metabolic restart portion with alternating low and high calorie days to help shed body fat

Achieve—this phase is about learning to control portions and introducing new fitness routines

Arrive—a combination of the first three cycles to keep good habits up for good. On weekends, enjoy your favorite foods!

Have we not seen the phrase “Enjoy your favorite foods” before?

Dealing With Sore Muscles – Does this mean it was a good workout?

According to fitness trainer to the starts Harley Pasternak it is. If its just “simple sore muscles” (known as delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) ) then you are fine. You are taking actions that are going to result in growing muscles (which burn more calories). However, if (for example) your one shoulder hurts more than another it may be more than simple muscle soreness. It may be an injury.

Harley Pasternak Top 4 Tips to Reducing DOMS
1. Warm Up. “Increase body temperature to help prepare your muscles for the shock of an intense workout,” Pasternak says.

2. Stay Hydrated. “A lack of electrolytes can make muscles sore,” Pasternak says, who recommends drinking easily digested fluids so you can power up and avoid an upset stomach. “Look for beverages with no protein or stimulants like Powerade Zero.” (And steer clear of these 10 worst drinks for your body!)

3. Ice Sore Muscles. “Have a cold pack handy to reduce pain and inflammation,” Pasternak says. ACE has an Instant Cold Compress that’s super convenient. “Give it a twist and you’ve got instant ice.”

4. Do Cardio. “A cardio workout increases blood flow and acts as a filter system. It brings nutrients like oxygen, protein, and iron to the muscles that you’ve been training and helps them recover faster. As the blood leaves the muscles, it takes some of the metabolic bi-products with it (like carbon dioxide and lactic acid) that may be causing DOMS.”

Souce: Shine

Mentioned in this Episode

What’s holding you back

New Podcast From Dave, “Feeding My Faith” – God Made Simple

Amy Parham New Book – 10 Lessons from a Former Fat Girl

The Logical Loss Weight Loss Wars at www.logicalloss.com/compete

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Today I’m talking about the benefits of counting your calories (which I previously mentioned in the blog).

I also relay some people have about Street Strider (read feedback)

My Fitness Pal Reviewed

In trying myfitnesspal.com my first impression was good. It’s easy to use, and I answered a few questions and my account was setup. As I’ve used previous tools such as fatsecret.com, and sparkpeople.com, and dailyburn.com and many others listed in the tracking resources. The thing I liked about this website is it had all the things I like such as

Active community

Easy food entry

HUGE food database

Tracking of exercise

Tracking of Water

I also like that you can add notes about food and exercise. It even has the ability to take your phone and scan the barcode and have that food added to your food diary. Now if you don’t have a smart phone (it runs on iphone, droid, and blackberry) you can use their website alone.

I’ve used Sparkepople.com in the past and I still use it form time to time, but I view Sparkepeople as the MySpace of weight loss sites. MySpace was a great site for finding music and a great way for musicians to interact with their audience. Then they added a little more, and a little more, and a little more, and a little more, and they ruined it. To me, myfitnesspal.com is very similar to Sparkpeople except they are sticking with just the stuff I like (and not the stuff I need like a listing of all diseases ever discovered, etc).

Motivation: Finding What Motivates You

Only you can motivate you. If someone puts a gun to your head YOUR fear of death inspires you to do whatever the ask.  I was being tempted one day, and I really needed something to motivate me to stay away from the snickers bar. I’m a technical trainer, and one of the “Core Values” that make Dave Jackson – Dave Jackson is I like to help people. I was there hearing the calling of the vending machine, and instead I thought of one of my audience members asking, “Can you help me lose weight by being an example?” While I have a hard time putting myself first (in terms of eating right), I will pull away from the twinkie if it means it will help one of you. I know. that’s weird, but right now it works. Isn’t that what really matters? We always change with the curves that life throws our way, so what works today may not work next month, but as long as we keep trying, we will be very hard to beat. Find out what makes you tick. Find out what inspires you, and see if you can’t tie that into motivating you to eat better, and exercise more.

Weight Loss Wars Start May 1

The Logical Weight Loss War is starting May 1st. We are using Weight Loss Wars to handle the administration. It’s only .11 a day. Enjoy the competition and community around out new challenge. Go to www.logicalloss.com/compete

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We are starting a weight loss challenge starting May 1 2011. This is going to be our first time testing out the Weight Loss Wars website. It’s only 10 bucks to sign up, and then each week we will weigh in and on July 31, we will crown a winner with the percent with the greatest percentage of weight loss winning teeth whitening (and they will be smiling as they won).

This has all the tools to make this great. You have the support of having a team of people working toward a goal (weight loss). You have the spark of competition to urge us on. You have the accountability of graphs and charts that are created for you by the weight loss wars system.

There is a $10 maintenance fee (or you can participate for free if you fill out a survey, etc).

I’m pumped!

To sign up go to www.logicalloss.com/compete

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Jillian’s new book Unlimited is on the books shelves, on the Kindle, and even out as an unabridgged audio book (and for me, I love the passion in Jillian’s voice). Well our friends at audible have worked up a deal where you can get one free audiobook and a 14 free trial by going to www.audibletrial.com/dave I’ve already checked and the book is available. You can go over and download it and start listening immediately. Cancel any time within the first 14 days, and keep the book. If you don’t cancel you can download her other books like Mastor Your Metabolism and only pay $14.95 a month (for the record audio books are typically 20 bucks). You also save 30% on any additional books you want to purchase. It’s a good deal. To get your free audio book go to  http://logicalloss.com/audibletrial

If you want the printed book (or Kindle version) its only $13 for the hard cover or Kindle version. Click the image to the left.

If you looking to get your mind in check, Lynn Terry had a great post about the book Wellbeing: The Five Essential Elements. Which has an overall wellbeing test. Remember Positive Life Change doesn’t just happen to you. You have to be proactive about the things you want to change in your life. You can achieve a lot by doing little things that add up to big things. You have to do this. Don’t put this on someone else. Ask where you are and where you want to be. Pick ONE thing that will be a small step to get your towards your goal and do that TODAY>

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Accountability is accepting responsibility for your thoughts, feelings, and actions. It means you might have to slow down, and examine ourselves from an objective point of view. This means we have to admit, and accept when we do something wrong. This doesn’t mean we are a horrible person, it means there is room for improvement. If we don’t hold ourselves accountable, then we leave the door open to excuses. We take these excuses and believe they are legitimate reasons for not losing weight.

There are a number of things that stop us from accepting accountability. These include:

Blaming: If it wasn’t for ____ I’d be losing weight.

Minimalism: It’s only a couple of extra calories.

Denial: If I don’t write it down on my calorie tracking software, it means I didn’t eat it.

Don’t get overwhelmed when you look at your weight loss goals. Break them down into small steps. Break the steps into choices and take it one choice at a time. If you make a bad choice, don’t beat yourself up to bad. Instead hold yourself accountable, learn from your mistake, and start planning your next successful step.

Weight Loss Wars

I want to thank listener Pete who sent in a note that I should check out Weight Loss Wars.  This site ties in nicely with accountability. We’ve talked about how having a workout buddy can boost your weight loss as you hold each other accountable. We read in different books where having support groups can boost weight loss. We all will agree that a little healthy competition motivates us to do better. Weight loss wars ties in all of these.

I created an Excel spreadsheet for those looking to do a Biggest Loser Competition at work (or home or church) and it does all the weight calculations for you. What it DOESN’T do is enter all the info when everyone does a weigh in. It also doesn’t keep everyone up to date. This is where Weight Loss Wars takes care of that. Everyone updates their own information, and can easily see where they stand in the competition etc. This information can be as private or as public as you want it to be. I just discovering and signing up for this site, I like what I see. I may use this in the future to handle a new Logical Weight Loss challenge (maybe in May?)

In previous blog posts I had mentioned the Gym Boss Update and that there is no truth in advertising

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Today I talk about Burning Calories Sitting Down (read post)

I found this article at Sparkpeople.com and I loved it, and wanted to share it with you. It was written by “Princesslsh”

Okay here is what every person needs to understand, there is no failure in success, there is only you and your struggle to stay ahead of your own self-doubt. This goes back to negative thoughts keeping people below their potential. Everyone can succeed once they learn to have faith in themselves and their abilities. We have to learn that the road to success is paved with mistakes and that sometimes those mistakes bring you other successes.

Mistakes can sometimes turn out to be successes. You just never know what life has in-stored for you, so basically we have to try to accept our mistakes and go with the flow.

The only way to gauge your success is to keep these two things in mind:
Every little bit counts; each step will lead you to your goal. We just have to keep on the road of success and don’t turn down the road of self-doubt for it can only bring misery and surrender. To surrender means to give up, to stop trying and trying is the way to success. To stop striving means to stop living and when we have no motivation to live our lives, than we have nothing.

I know it’s hard sometimes to keep going when for every step we take, we take two steps back. Realize that all those steps will eventually get you where you want to be, so just keep walking and before you know it success will be there to greet you.

And 2nd, true success is learning where your limitations lie. It’s hard for people to ask for help and sometimes to even offer help and that’s where we go wrong. We need to learn to give and receive; to let pride rest for a little bit. Many times people don’t realize that their goals could be attained more rapidly if they only would ask for help.

Meaning that not one person is great at everything, so we have to find the person or persons that make up for what we lack in. It’s sort of like delegating; your business gets done efficiently and a lot quicker if you have the right people helping you accomplish a goal. So we must all learn that there are times for pride and that there are times that we must suck in our pride and ask for help.

So as you can see success isn’t winning or failure, it’s the road you took to get there. It’s the tears, the struggles, and the problems you have overcome to get where you are today; it’s your success story. And in a good story, you can’t just write the beginning and the end you have to write what happened in between; you have to write about your road and where it took you and how was the walk.

Now that is a success story I would want to read, so get out and make your success. Don’t let anything or anyone stop you, because once you strive to take your steps, you’re already on the road to success.

Help support the show. Be in our top spots or drop us a donation, simply go to www.logicalloss.com/support all support is deeply appreciated.
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Today I went searching for techniques to help us deal with stress. There are many things you can do to help deal with your stress. The point is if you don’t do something to your stress, your stress will do something to you.

A quick exercise you can do is to draw a horizontal and vertical line. Everything about the line is important. Everything below the lines is less important. Everything to the left are things you can’t control. Everything to the right are things you can control. You want to focus on the items that are controllable, and important. There is no reason to worry about things you can’t control (like people, weather, etc). There is no reason to stress out over those items that aren’t that important.

We often get overwhelmed when we look at the big picture. Instead take your items, prioritize them, and attack them one at a time. Take life one decision at a time.

Getting sleep will help. When we are tired we make all sorts of bad decisions, and we don’t have the energy we need to carry on.

Find something else to do instead of eating. We know that eating can temporarily make us feel better, but so does a good workout. I’ve never felt worse after a workout. Twinkie or workout? Which one ties into your weight loss goals? Exercise has been shown to release chemicals in the brain that make us feel better.

Take some time to be alone and do deep breathing. Play some soft music. Even 10 minutes of relaxing can help.

Get creating and start a journal, paint, play some music, etc. All help with stress.

Get some help. I previously thought only “Crazy” people needed therapy. Not the case. Getting an objective viewpoint on your issues can really benefit you. This does not mean your ‘broken” and need fixed.

Double check reality. We often get upset about items that turn out to be untrue. I know you think ___ about a situation. Maybe getting a second opinion with a fresh set of eyes will help you see you are off base (and have nothing to worry about). As the old saying goes, don’t sweat the small stuff.

Focus on new actions. Your emotions are normal. How you ACT on your emotions can add or decrease the stress in your life.

Help support the show. Be in our top spots or drop us a donation, simply go to www.logicalloss.com/support all support is deeply appreciated.
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In today’s podcast I talk about some articles I found about healthy snacks (what will keep you full and give you some nutrition), and what won’t.

Ladies, you will want to listen to the second topic in the show today as we explain how yo-yo dieting can make you boobs sag.

Lastly we have a great article about how to reward yourself. We get hung up on the scale. Instead of rewarding when the scale moves, we need to reward ourselves for the activities that make the scale move (like eating right, exercising). too many times the scale gets stuck, we get discouraged, and we quit.

Help support the show. Be in our top spots or drop us a donation, simply go to www.logicalloss.com/support all support is deeply appreciated.
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I had mentioned in a previous post that sometimes you need to come up with a fitness goal to make you stretch yourself. As always consult your doctor before beginning an exercise program, but I’ve joined the Spark People “5K Your Way program. Read about it here

Soda is Just Bad

That innocent-looking can of soda pop-no matter what it’s sweetened with-may be taking a toll on your immunity. Here’s why:
1. People who drink sodas instead of healthy beverages (think low-fat milk and pure fruit juice) are less likely to get adequate vitamin A, calcium, and magnesium. What’s more, soda contains phosphoric acid that depletes calcium and magnesium. These two nutrients help keep your immunity operating at peak efficiency.
2. Sodas containing high-fructose corn syrup also contain high levels of free radicals linked to tissue damage, the development of diabetes, and diabetic complications.
3. Plastic soda (and water) bottles contain a toxic chemical called bisphenol A (BPA) that can leach from bottles into soda…into you. Emerging evidence links BPA to a myriad of maladies, including immune system depression. Public health experts recommend that we protect children from exposure to products containing BPA-especially those they consume or use every day.
4. Diet soda actually contributes to weight gain. A study of 1,550 people concluded that people who drink diet soda have a 41 percent increased risk of being overweight or obese-for every can or bottle they drink per day! Turns out, any sweet taste signals body cells to store fat and carbohydrates, which makes you hungrier. Sweet tastes also promote insulin release, which blocks your body’s ability to burn fat. The hard truth: No published study has ever proven that drinking diet soda will help you lose weight.
From thatsfit.com
That innocent-looking can of soda pop-no matter what it’s sweetened with-may be taking a toll on your immunity. Here’s why:
1. People who drink sodas instead of healthy beverages (think low-fat milk and pure fruit juice) are less likely to get adequate vitamin A, calcium, and magnesium. What’s more, soda contains phosphoric acid that depletes calcium and magnesium. These two nutrients help keep your immunity operating at peak efficiency.
2. Sodas containing high-fructose corn syrup also contain high levels of free radicals linked to tissue damage, the development of diabetes, and diabetic complications.
3. Plastic soda (and water) bottles contain a toxic chemical called bisphenol A (BPA) that can leach from bottles into soda…into you. Emerging evidence links BPA to a myriad of maladies, including immune system depression. Public health experts recommend that we protect children from exposure to products containing BPA-especially those they consume or use every day.
4. Diet soda actually contributes to weight gain. A study of 1,550 people concluded that people who drink diet soda have a 41 percent increased risk of being overweight or obese-for every can or bottle they drink per day! Turns out, any sweet taste signals body cells to store fat and carbohydrates, which makes you hungrier. Sweet tastes also promote insulin release, which blocks your body’s ability to burn fat. The hard truth: No published study has ever proven that drinking diet soda will help you lose weight.
From
If you think you don’t need to work out just because you’re slim and trim at 25, think again. A new study shows that people who start a regular fitness regimen in their 20s and stick with it into their 30s and 40s experience less middle age spread.

Exercising in Your 20′s Helps You Later

The study, published in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that starting exercise early in life is especially good for women. Women who maintain a high intensity, regular fitness routine from their 20s onward gain 13 fewer pounds than women who are inactive or who are inconsistent in their exercise routines.

The new research comes out of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and was headed by Dr. Arlene Hankinson, instructor of preventive medicine. Her team’s research followed the exercise patterns of more than 3,500 men and women, ages 18 to 30 at baseline, over the course of 20 years.

For the purposes of the study, Hankinson told AOL Health her team defined “high intensity” exercise as exercise of high frequency and duration for at least 150 minutes per week, which is in keeping with federal guidelines for exercising at least 30 minutes five days a week. “We found that 25 minutes of exercise every day is better at maintaining weight than 45 minutes a day once in awhile,” Hankinson said.

So what if you’re 35 or 45 and you’ve never engaged in regular exercise? Is it too late to start to see a benefit? Hankinson said that while her study only looked at people who started exercising in young adulthood, she would certainly encourage anyone of any age to get moving. “It’s not that there are fewer benefits of activity when you start late,” she explains. “It’s that the amount of activity you have to do may increase

New Tony Horton Book

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10 Ways to Cut 100 Calories

I read this article at shine from yahoo

Mustard
Swap mayo for mustard: 2 Tbsp of mayo has 200 calories; 2 Tbsp of mustard has just 30.

Fruit
Eat fresh fruit instead of dried. One half-cup of raisins has more than 200 calories, but one full cup of fresh grapes has just 80.

Oil
Use an oil mister instead of pouring olive or canola oil straight from the bottle. A Tbsp of oil has 120 calories, but with a mister you’ll use a fraction of that.

Cheese
Leave the cheese off your sandwich. Instead, pile on lots of very low-cal veggies. The veggies add nutrition and volume, so your sandwich will be extra-filling.

Bagels
Scoop out the inside of a bagel. It’s an easy way to make a high-carb treat a little lighter.

Sandwiches
Eat your sandwiches open-faced (with just one slice of bread instead of two).

Soda
Swap your daily (12-oz) can of regular soda (150 calories) for a can of naturally flavored, calorie-free seltzer. These seltzers get their taste solely from a shot of natural fruit flavor, such as lime, raspberry or orange. They don’t contain any sugar or artificial sweeteners, so they’re not super-sweet—but thanks to the carbonation, they have that fizzy pop we all love from soda.

Egg Whites
Eat two egg whites instead of two whole eggs.

Salad Dressing
Switch from regular salad dressing (about 140 calories for 2 Tbsp) to a light salad dressing. (Look for brands that have no more than 40 calories in 2 Tbsp.)

Pizza
Don’t eat the end crust on your pizza. It packs about 100 calories.

12 Ways to Burn Calories While Watching TV
By Korin Miller

also from shine.yahoo.com

1. Jump rope for two-minute intervals. Repeat four times. (111 calories)
2. Run up and down the stairs of your apartment building or house during a commercial break. (42 calories)
3. Stand in front of your couch, squat until your butt is just above the seat cushions, and hold that position for one minute. Repeat four times. (80 calories)
4. Lie down on the floor on your side and do leg lifts for five minutes. (50 calories)
5. Do arm circles for one minute. Repeat two more times. (20 calories)
6. Sprint to the bathroom, hover over the toilet seat while you pee, and sprint back. (30 calories)
7. Grab three-pound weights or two soup cans and do one minute each of lifting for your triceps (put your hands behind your head, with your elbows at your ears and lift the weight up and down). Do three sets. (17 calories)
8. Sit on an exercise ball and do one minute of ab curls. Repeat four times. (50 calories)
9. If you’re not down with that, work your core by simply sitting on the ball for an hour. (38 calories)
10. Stand approximately five feet away from the TV and do lunges for five minutes. (37 calories)
11. Lie down in front of the TV and hold yourself in the plank position for one minute. Repeat two times. (35 calories)
12. Lie down on your couch and scoot around until your back is on the cushions and your legs are resting on the seat back, at a 90 degree angle to your waist. Curl your torso up towards your legs in a crunch and release. Keep doing them for an entire commercial break. (30 calories)

Get More Out of Your Workout with HIIT

HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) is where you perform short bursts of intense exercise, then take a longer period to recover. For example, sprint all out for 20 seconds, then walk for 60 seconds. Interval training burns more calories because of the intense bursts of work. The faster you burn 3,500 calories, the faster you will burn fat. You can do interval training with any method of do it fast, and then do it slow. Obviously if you are just getting off the couch, you would not start here. However, if you’ve been exercising for a bit and you’re ready to take it to the next level – this is something you might want to try.

Last but not least, unless you want shatter your body into a million pieces; please warm up before doing these intervals. The warm ups bring blood and energy into the muscles, the muscles realize they are being called on and prime themselves for doing work. A warm up consists of about 5 minutes of light jogging with a brief increase in speed now and then to see how your body feels about it. It is also an excellent idea to do a few stretches after your warm up. Do not stretch cold; you will just pull a muscle.

In interval training for beginners the cool down is also important. It starts your recovery off on the right foot. Spend 5 minutes in a light jog winding down your body from the intervals.

You Can’t Manage What You Don’t Track

This is the calorie differential report from Spark People. That blue circle should be down in the orange area. You see where it does some times, but most of the time its even with the orange or above it. This is a red flag that something needs to change.

Other Items Mentioned on This Podcast

Katie Perry Rolling Stone Cover

TRX on the Biggest Loser (article)

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I’ve talked about goals in the past. Here is a quick summary.

S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Attainable
R = Realistic
T = Timely

According to my Kindle, I’m 51% done with this book. It’s a great book so far.

It is just over flowing with great content and studies. For example, “According to health authorities, average adult men and women burn an estimated 1,800 to 2,200 calories a day. And yet studies show that Americans have a per capita consumption of 3,790 calories a day.

But here’s the scary part: Most Americans have no idea how many calories they’re consuming and where those calories are going! The same 2010 study—carried out by the International Food Information Council Foundation—found that only 12 percent of Americans could correctly estimate the number of calories they should be consuming in a day based on their age, weight, height, and activity level. And nearly half of all Americans have no idea how many calories they burn in a day.

For someone who comes at weight loss from a logical view point this is great content. I am having a hard time putting the book down.

It has the typical stuff (a few pages with their favorite exercises), it has some “Don’t eat this – eat that” that’s poplar now. But it also has some stuff I have not seen in other books. It not only identifies the typical types of eaters, but it provides strategies to over come the hurdles that are holding you back.

At the heart of it all is their focus on their free iphone (sadly only) application Lose it! As I do not have an iphone I can’t give you first hand knowledge. If you don’t have the app, the book is still useful. The bottom line is you we need to understand what we are doing to our bodies. We need to know (not guess) how many calories we are stuffing in our faces, and how many calories we are not burning sitting on the couch.

One great point they make is that most average Americans are overweight not from eating thousands of calories each day, but only going over a little. However, when you add (For example) 100 calories times 30 days you get 3000 calories (and 3500 calories is one pound). Consequently, slowly and gradually we are all getting fat. The book then shows you TONS of ways that you can cut “just a little” bit of calories here and there. The great news is when you add up all those “little” cuts in calories they add up to big weight loss.

As I said, I’m only half way through and even if the rest of the book stinks, I would recommend it. The only thing I found frustrating is as I have an android phone it makes me really want them to hurry up and come up with an android version.

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Well this is probably the worst time to talk about stress at your job. After all with the jobless rate being so high, the option to find another job is not much of an option. This can lead to high stress. High stress can lead to emotional eating. So what do you do?

I have a friend that just HATES his job. They fired a bunch of people in an effort to stay open, and he ended up with a lot more work to do. How did he get through? He found one thing that he could tolerate in his job and focus on that. On those days that he couldn’t find that one positive to focus on, he would focus on the fact that he wasn’t unemployed and forced to look for a job. A bad job is better than no job when you have mouths to feed. We realize that being stuck at a job is no fun. Here are some other thoughts.

While you may think life couldn’t get any worse, it can. Your health, family friends, parents, etc. Lots of things could take a change for the worse. Try to keep your chin up.

The other thing I want to point out is you may be regretting not going to college. I’m living proof that you can go back. In fact I’ve gone back twice. I’ve got the student loans to prove it (I also have a job to help pay those off). With so many programs now with flexible hours and online options, I urge you to consider going back to school if you’ve pondered the thought. If you are unemployed, you will be eligible for grants.

The bad news is its called school. It’s not called fun. It took four years for me to go to a two year school the first time (putting myself through as I worked as a car hop). The second time I paid my way through student loans and working as a podcast consultant. It wasn’t easy, but if you keep up with your homework (which means you need to re-prioritize your life) you can make it. Before you know it, your graduation shows up and you can go back to work (with your new degree). That would be my one warning. Whatever school you go to, make sure you get a degree and not a “Certificate.”
Richard Carlson who wrote the best selling Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, also has Don’t sweat the small stuff at work.  Here are some key points from the book.

1. Dare to Be Happy.
Allow yourself the luxury of being happy at work.  Happy workers are creative, good listeners, and highly motivated.

2. Become Less Controlling.
Give people the space to be who they really are and respect other people’s differences.  By not being controlling, you will receive more admiration and respect. 

3. Eliminate the Rat Race Mentality.
Stop complaining that you are stuck in the rat race.  Instead, look into how you are spending your days in a more positive manner. 

4. Don’t Dramatize the Deadlines.
Remember, it causes more stress to complain about how unfair a certain deadline is than to actually work on a task. 

 5. Have Some “No Phone” Time at Work.
Excessive phone calls can cause a lot of stress and anxiety.  It might be a good idea to turn off your ringer or have your voice mail answer your calls for a specific period of time.

6. Avoid Corporate Bragging.
Stop yourself from telling others how busy you are and how much work you do.  You are, in fact, reinforcing to yourself how stressed out you are. 

7. Make the Best of Those Boring Meetings.
To make meetings more interesting and productive, you should totally immerse yourself in the discussion.  It is also a good idea to tell yourself that you’re going to learn something new.

8. Stop Anticipating Tiredness.
Don’t anticipate how tired you are going to be tomorrow or at the end of the week.  Instead, just try to take advantage of any chance you get to rest or sleep.

9. Don’t Sweat the Bureaucracy.
The best way to deal with bureaucracy is to maximize your efficiency the best way you can.  You can also make suggestions on ways to improve the system.

10. Remember the Phrase, “Being Dead Is Bad for Business.”
Take care of your personal health.  Eat well, exercise, get plenty or rest and take up other healthy habits. 

11. Make the Best of Corporate Travel.
When traveling, be creative on how you spend your time – even when on the plane. Make the best out of it.

12. Light a Candle Instead of Cursing the Darkness.
When something goes wrong, take positive steps to solve the problem.  Instead of complaining about the situation, try coming up with a solution.

13. Join My New Club, “TGIT”
“TGIT” stands for “Thank God It’s Today.”  Instead of looking forward to your weekends, learn to appreciate each day of the week. This way, you will be happy everyday.

14. Don’t Sweat the Demanding Boss.
When dealing with a demanding boss, try to focus on his or her positive aspects. Don’t take the behavior personally.

15. Remember to Acknowledge.
Everyone loves to be acknowledged so always find the time to acknowledge others.   A simple note or the act of saying ‘thank you’ can do wonders.

16. Don’t Keep People Waiting.
Respect other people’s time.  Plan ahead and make sure you are on time all the time. 

17. Create a Bridge Between Your Spirituality and Your Work.
Bring the essence of who you are and what you believe into the workplace.

18. Brighten Up Your Working Environment.
Make sure that your working environment is not bland, boring, or dark.  Take the time and spend a little money on making your workplace less depressing.

Comment about the Show About Money

Nikki
Strollcasting! I love it!
Normally during the holidays I don’t really pay attention to all of the junk food around the office. Usually it the type of goodies that I don’t like, so I can ignore it. This year, seems everyone is bringing in all of the stuff that I LIKE! Why? This year is proving to be more difficult to avoid the goodies. I don’t appreciate that!
I LOVE Dave Ramsey! We just finished his Financial Peace University – SUCH an eye opener! It was AWESOME and I would recommend it to EVERYONE!
I agree – I have, SO MANY TIMES, bought something because it was new or different, or “if I buy this I will use it EVERYDAY”. Yeah right! But now, I am using that to my favor. Not expensive things, but I’ll buy some new fitness gadget to motivate me to do something different. A different workout DVD, or new shoes, or something like that.

Things that are stressing me out right now – work. I work in an office that is really struggling and I don’t know how much longer I will have a job. This leads to stress about money – I can’t afford any sort of a loss in income. My health, leads to dealing with my weight and just not sure which way to go with that (eating plan). Christmas shopping – I haven’t started and I’m not really looking forward to it. I don’t have the extra money to do it now and I know the stress about this WILL kick up as Christmas gets closer. Not sleeping well because of all of this. Geez, what did I leave out?
Great podcast AS ALWAYS, Dave! Thank you!

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Stephanie says that the chorus on this song just makes her push hard on the treadmill. It does have a good driving beat. I’m fairly Gaga illiterate, but I agree this Lady Gaga chorus on “Just Dance” could get you moving.

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Today we continue discussing attacking the CAUSE (not the symptom). The symptom of our unhappiness is our eating. The cause can be things like money (last week) or relationships.

Here are some tips and insights.

1. 70% of second marriages end in divorce because people expect them to be perfect. No relationship is perfect. They need  work.

2. Most arguments are about things that don’t really matter. If you do something the way your spouse wants to do it. What’s the worst that can happen?

3. If you argument is escalating, walk away. This has to be done in a mature manner. Say, “I love you, but I’m worried about where this conversation is going. Let’s take a (specific time) break and when I return we will continue this conversation.

Some great books on relationships.

Love and Respect by Dr Emerson Eggerichs

The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work by Dr. John Gottman

Stop Hurting the Woman You Love by Charlie Donaldson, Randy Flood, and Elaine Eldridge

4. Don’t Look at Your Spouse as your Enemy.

5. Work on YOU. Work on YOU. Work on YOU.

6. Saying “If only they would change, we would be happy. This gives the other person ALL the control over your happiness. If you work on YOU, then you will be a nicer person to be around which may result in them acting in the way you want them to. It starts with you.

7. If you are wishing you could do things like when you were single (play video games all day, etc). Realize you are married now. You have new responsibilities. If you can make this work, you will find more joy than any video game can deliver.

8. We often think we’re right based on the thoughts we have in our head. However, based on how we were raised, our experiences, etc and our past may distort how we process information. So if the information we receive gets distorted, then the beliefs we have may will be distorted.  Yes. It may be hard to believe – but you may be wrong.

9. Gentlemen. Women want to feel cherished. Open doors for them. Kiss them frequently. Assume they are not sure if you love them and remind the NUMEROUS times a day. Leave messages, notes, hold her hand, etc. These little tiny things mean a ton.

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As this is the end of the year, you may (or may not) have met your goals (I did not). Instead of looking at myself and saying, “I’m an emotional eater. I need to exercise more and eat less.” However, I now want to look at WHY?

It doesn’t do any good to fix a symptom if you have not fixed the cause of the problem. We see this on the biggest loser where people treat the symptom (weight) but never treat the cause (emotional issues). So today I’m trying to take a step back, and look at why I tick. What is making my life stressful? After all if I can avoid the stress, then this will help me want to “self medicate” myself with food.

One of the things that really stresses me out is worrying about money. Here are some things I want to pass along when it comes to spending your money.

1. Do you want it or do you need it?

In other words what happens if you don’t but this? For example. If you don’t buy food, you starve. Hence this is a NEED. What happens if you don’t buy those new shoes? You will have to wear the old shoes. Are the old shoes worn out? No? Then keep wearing them. If there are holes in them, then you need new shoes.

Money Management Resources

One of my favorite guys when it comes to money is Dave Ramsey. He as a podcast, and some great books.  His Total Money Makeover is a non-nonsense approach to spending your money. Money is a bit like food. A diet is simply an eating plan. A budget is simply a spending plan. Both involve self-control.

A great free tool you can use to monitor and track your spending is mint.com this free website will track all of your spending. All you need to do is enter anything you but with cash. (remember cash? me neither). Once you see where you are spending your money, you can determine if you are spending money on things you want or you need.

The thought process is if we can identify the reasons why we operate, we can have a better understanding of ourselves and with that understanding we can make better choices. I would love to have any input on what you think are your root causes that effect your eating?

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